 |
|
||||
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Upcoming Release Calendar
38
12 Rounds Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Death of a President
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||
MPAA RATING: R for brief violent images
Starring Hend Ayoub, Brian Boland, Becky Ann Baker, Robert Mangiardi, Jay Patterson, Jay Whittaker, Michael Reilly Burke, and James Urbaniak
Death of a President follows the investigation of the fictional assassination of President George W. Bush in October 2007. Combining real archival footage with a credible but fictional story, this film presents a fascinating and thought-provoking political thriller. (Newmarket Films)
| GENRE(S): | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Suspense/Thriller |
| WRITTEN BY: |
Simon Finch
Gabriel Range |
| DIRECTED BY: | Gabriel Range |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: April 3, 2007 Theatrical: October 27, 2006 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 93 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | UK |
| LANGUAGE(S): | English / Arabic |
International Critics' Award (FIPRESCI), 2006 Toronto International Film Festival
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 24 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
PnArdy PnArdy gave it a9:
Great documentary style movie portraying the hypothetical day of assassination of president G.W. Bush in the future. It's a movie-statement that sets new boundaries and redefines the documentary genre.
Chad S. gave it a4:
Rather than emulate(to a certain degree) Errol Morris' "The Thin Blue Line", this filmmaker misses a golden opportunity to turn "Death of a President" into a full-blown propaganda film. Imagine if a Warren Commission-like report expressed on film were to broadcast on American airwaves in order to frame some innocent foreigner for the murder of President George Walker Bush. This mock-doc's agenda should've been to protect the killer(s) and hide the truth, instead we're subjected to a rambling(and boring) testimony of the case's history(there are too many suspects; too many dead ends) before an Iraqi male is brought to justice and charged with Bush's assasination. Because of his ethnicity, a canny filmmaker would try to frame him, but "Death of a President['s]" liberal heart bleeds too much on its sleeve and strives for exoneration, as a way to comment on racial profiling and the legalized tyranny of the Patriot Act. "Death of a President" doesn't do enough with its most valuable resource: Vice-President Dick Cheney. If the film insinuated that he took out a sitting president, now you're talking provocation.
Will B. gave it an8:
I have to say that the number of Americans, primarily, that are so DEEPLY offended by a work of FICTION involving the death of one person, who's ultimately responsible for the deaths of 10's of 1000's, is kind of puzzling. Hillary C. voices her outrage, as does the reviewer above from Ohio, (06's 'Florida' to ensure coup #2). It's a work of fiction about one sorry excuse of a human dying! Who cares what his position in life is!? Why does that elevate the mere premise of this event to such levels of horror and outrage? Why isn't this level of OUTRAGE being voiced at images of thousands of ACTUAL, not fictional,Soldiers, or of over 60,000 regular people like myself and this reviewer, all dying over the last 4 years for an illegal war? This movie, while giving a sobering WARNING to any wing nuts who think the death of the Puppet Boy would be a GREAT thing, doesn't strike me as some unimaginable horror, just a "What If?" piece of fiction. That the aforementioned wing nuts could use this movie to teach themselves that the alternative to Bush, an unfettered Darth Cheney, would be FAR worse, perhaps if anything, this film will actually prove to give Duh-Byuh a little more protection from the Timmothy McVeigh segment of the population. Cuz WHO isn't scared of Darth Cheney?
Jason L. gave it a6:
Entertainment wise, I think the very premise of this film doomed it from the beggining. It became distracting when one found himself trying to separate fact from fiction. Additionally, the movie lacked elements that make a good movie: plot, protagonists, action, drama. I did appreciate however, the intelligence that went behind making the film. It did NOT endorse the death of Bush, but rather looked at the world had as if he had died. It did make me think about how many people think a dead president will benifit or destroy this country, and I believe the movie is directed at them.
Matthew M gave it a7:
It was an alright film; I think the premise outweighs the execution. I can understand if people found it uninteresting, or non earth-shattering as there was very little insight to be take from this. No, instead it's an interesting premise of wishful thinking people who rally against Bush would want to see. That's why I enjoyed it for the most part, but amazed there are so many people willing to give it 0-3 because it was "boring" to them; Sorry, but that just means they were convinced on not liking it before they even saw it (if they saw it) because of their political agenda.
Michael gave it a9:
A fine film that's only slightly about a Bush assassination. It's more about the nation he (and we) made. The crime's aftermath turns into a rather profound cross between "Rashomon" and 1940s film noir. It ultimately suggests that almost anyone might have had some motive, and might have shared some of the culpability.
Gerrick C. gave it a3:
The film is a resounding bore with very few redeeming qualities. Quite honestly, UK film producers coming up with a fictional assassination of the United States President is idiotic. Please do not see this film.
 |
Return to top of page |  |
